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October 21, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 35 Comments

What if J. K. Rowling had used a Pseudonym? Should Authors Use Different Names for Different Genres?

What if J. K. Rowling had used a Pseudonym? Should Authors Use Different Names for Different Genres?

by Anne R. Allen   This post was originally written in October, 2012. Here’s an update: July 14, 2013. It seems the critically acclaimed detective novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling was written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Here’s an article in the Telegraph with details about the new revelation.  It got great reviews, but […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business, The Writing Life Tagged With: Ann Patchett, Anne Gallagher, author branding, D. G. Sandru, Dean Wesley Smith, J. K. Rowling, Justin Cronin, Mary Sisson, pseudonym, Robynne Rand, The Daily Show, The Passive Voice, Tom Simon, using a pen name

October 7, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 39 Comments

NaNoWriMo—Should You Join in the Silliness? 9 Reasons to Consider it.

NaNoWriMo—Should You Join in the Silliness? 9 Reasons to Consider it.

by Anne R. Allen   First: full disclosure—I’ve never NaNo’ed. I’m a slo-o-o-w writer. My editor despairs. I’ve got a new Camilla Randall mystery due in November (No Place Like Home) which I’ve been working on for a year and haven’t finished yet. (Yes, I’ve been writing, editing and launching six other books and two […]

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Filed Under: The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: Chris Baty, Delilah S. Dawson, GalleyCat, Glimmer Train, How to barf a book, Josh Swiller, Marissa Meyer, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Nick Hornby, Office of Letters and Light

September 30, 2012 By Ruth Harris 26 Comments

The Story that Took 50 Years to Write: an Interview with Michael Harris

The Story that Took 50 Years to Write: an Interview with Michael Harris

  Ruth and I are totally jazzed to announce that this blog has been named one of the Top 50 Blogs for Writers by Tribal Messenger Daily. To be up there with Konrath, Kristen Lamb, and Jane Friedman is an amazing honor. Here’s what they said: One stimulating blog, two of the most prolific digital and print authors […]

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Filed Under: The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: AndWeWereHungry, how to write memoir, Kristen Lamb, Michael Harris, Nuclear testing, Ruth Harris, The Atomic Times, Top 50 Blogs for Authors, TribalMessengerDaily, Why You Should Write Short Fiction

September 9, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 89 Comments

How to Write an Author Bio When You Don’t Feel Like an Author…Yet

How to Write an Author Bio When You Don’t Feel Like an Author…Yet

by Anne R. Allen   Maybe you’ve got a novel finished and you’ve been sending out queries. Lots. And you’re getting rejections. Lots. Or worse, that slow disappointment of no response at all. Or maybe you write short fiction and poetry and you’ve got a bunch of pieces you’ve been sending out to contests and […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, Author bio, Central Coast Writers Conference, Christopher Moore, Jeff Carlson, Jill Corcoran., Laurie McLean, Pam Van Hylckama Vleig, query letter, Roxanna Britton, Shirley S. Allen

August 26, 2012 By Ruth Harris 18 Comments

Jumpstarting Fiction: How to Find Unique, Timely Ideas to Energize Your Creativity

Jumpstarting  Fiction: How to Find Unique, Timely Ideas to Energize Your Creativity

We have a big announcement: Ruth Harris has started her own blog!   No, she’s not going to abandon us over here. Her new blog is a whole ‘nother kettle of fish links. She will be posting a daily collection of links to articles she finds intriguing, unique, or just plain wacky. Fun stuff to […]

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Filed Under: The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: Blogging, Golden Age of Publishing, Ruth Harris, Ruth Harris’s Blog, Writing ideas, Writing prompts

August 12, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 32 Comments

How a 91-year-old Author’s Debut Mystery Hit the Bestseller List

How a 91-year-old Author’s Debut Mystery Hit the Bestseller List

by Anne R. Allen NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS! Recently, my publisher, MWiDP, relaunched Shirley S. Allen’s cozy mystery, ACADEMIC BODY as an ebook. Sales had slowed for the print version published by Mainly Murder Press in 2010, but Mark Williams saw my ad for the book on this blog, read it and loved […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: Academic Body, Bob Mayer, Catherine Ryan Hyde, cheap ebooks, cozy mysteries, How to Be a Writer in the E-Age, KDP Select, Kindle ebooks, Mark Coker, Shirley S. Allen

July 22, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 46 Comments

Cybermen, The Colorado Tragedy, and the Sociopath in the Comment Thread: Don’t Add to the Crazy

Cybermen, The Colorado Tragedy, and the Sociopath in the Comment Thread: Don’t Add to the Crazy

by Anne R. Allen   We still know nothing of the motives of the demented gunman who perpetrated the horrors at the screening of The Dark Knight Rises on Thursday night—and my heart goes out to the victims of that tragedy. But I think it’s important to note that earlier that day, the Rotten Tomatoes movie review site had […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: Anonymice, Colorado Tragedy, Cybermen, Dave Congalton, Dr. Martha Stout, Dr. Who, Reviews, Rotten Tomatoes Reviews, Sociopath, Terence Stamp, The Dark Knight Rises, The Sociopath Next Door

July 8, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 43 Comments

Bad Reviews—Six Reasons to Be Glad You Have Them

Bad Reviews—Six Reasons to Be Glad You Have Them

by Anne R. Allen   “What? Glad?” sez you. “There is nothing that makes a writer sadder than a bad review!” That’s true. They can feel like a sudden, nasty downpour on the biggest parade of your life. Whether you self-pubbed or worked with a traditional publisher, the publication of your first book is a […]

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Filed Under: The Writing Life, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection, Writing Craft Tagged With: Amazon Review Guidelines, bad reviews, cyberbullies, Elizabeth S. Craig, Food of Love, how to deal with negative reviews, Kristen Lamb, MWiDP, Popcorn Press, The Best Revenge, trollosphere, Trolls

July 1, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 38 Comments

What if Hollywood Rewrites Your Book? Survival Tips from Catherine Ryan Hyde

What if Hollywood Rewrites Your Book? Survival Tips from Catherine Ryan Hyde

First: The big day has arrived!The ebook version of HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE…And Keep Your E-Sanity which I wrote with my mentor Catherine Ryan Hyde is now available on Amazon from MWiDP. For a limited time, the e-book price will be $2.99 in the US and roughly the equivalent in the UK. (This book […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Dave Congalton, Digital Age Authors, Don't Let Me Go, How to Be a Writer in the E-Age, Kevin Spacey, Pay it Forward

June 24, 2012 By Ruth Harris 37 Comments

11 REASONS WRITERS GET REJECTED—AND WHY ONLY 3 OF THEM MATTER

11 REASONS WRITERS GET REJECTED—AND WHY ONLY 3 OF THEM MATTER

by Ruth Harris I‘m a TradPubbed NYT bestselling author gone indie. I was also an editor for over 20 years (Macmillan, Bantam, Dell) and the Publisher of Kensington—so let me put rejection into a little perspective. Let’s be clear: Manuscripts get rejected; not writers. Trust me. (Most of the time) it’s not personal. Let me […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, How to Be a Writer in the E-Age, Husbands and Lovers, On the Island, Publisher rejections, Ruth Harris, Tracy Garvis Graves, Why You Get Rejected

June 17, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 56 Comments

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: New Research Helps Writers Fight Depression

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: New Research Helps Writers Fight Depression

by Anne R. Allen   I started feeling it this last week: that dark heaviness lurking somewhere just below my conscious thoughts. It makes me burst into tears for no reason. I get clumsy and out of touch with my own body. I feel raw and unprotected. My joints ache. All I want to do […]

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Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, Depression and Writers, Fight Depression, How to Be a Writer in the E-Age, Imagine: How Creativity Works, Jonah Lehrer, Nancy Andreasen, Robin LaFevers, Suzanne Collins, Writer Unboxed

May 27, 2012 By Ruth Harris 41 Comments

How Writers Can Learn to Cope: 6 No-Fail Strategies for Achieving Mental Toughness

How Writers Can Learn to Cope: 6 No-Fail Strategies for Achieving Mental Toughness

Thanks to all of you who voted for our blog in the Association of American Publishers and Goodreads Independent Book Blogger Awards. We made it to the Finalist list for Best Publishing Industry Blog. 10,000 people voted in a field of over 800 nominees. The winner in that category is the uber-awesome Victoria Strauss of Writer […]

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Filed Under: The Writing Life, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection, Writing Craft Tagged With: coping with rejection, Elizabeth S. Craig, How to be a Writer, IBBA Awards Finalist, learning to fail, Lee Goldberg, Mariano Rivera, Mental toughness, Nora Roberts, Ruth Harris

May 13, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 47 Comments

Indie or Traditional Publishing? Don’t Take Sides: Take Your Time

Indie or Traditional Publishing? Don’t Take Sides: Take Your Time

 by Anne R. Allen   For a new writer, this can seem like a terrifying time to be launching a career. Everything in the publishing industry is in upheaval. Bookstores are closing all around us. Publishers and online retailers are conducting high-profile battles in the legal system as well as the court of public opinion. (If you want a […]

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Filed Under: Self-Publishing, The Publishing Business, The Writing Life Tagged With: Amanda McKittrick Ros, E-Book Revolution, Hire an Editor, Indie or Traditional Publishing?, Mark Coker, Nathan Bransford, Porter Anderson, Rachelle Gardner, Roz Morris, self publishing, Victoria Strauss

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writers digest 101 best websites for writers award

Anne R. AllenAnne R. Allen writes funny mysteries and how-to-books for writers. She also writes poetry and short stories on occasion. She’s a contributor to Writer’s Digest and the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market.

Her bestselling Camilla Randall Mystery Series features perennially down-on-her-luck former socialite Camilla Randall—who is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way.

Ruth Harris NYT best selling authorRuth is a million-copy New York Times bestselling author, Romantic Times award winner, former Big 5 editor, publisher, and news junkie.

Her emotional, entertaining women’s fiction and critically praised novels have sold millions of copies in hard cover, paperback and ebook editions, been translated into 19 languages, sold in 30 countries, and were prominent selections of leading book clubs including the Literary Guild and the Book Of The Month Club.

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